RIP Google Reader: 5 News Aggregator Alternatives

With Google Reader gone, users and developers are looking for alternative RSS readers.

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This Wednesday, June 19, 2013 image shows a Web browser with Feedly, a replacement for Google Reader, a tool for bringing headlines and articles from your favorite websites into a single place. (AP Photo)

Google Reader's long-awaited death has finally arrived.

The news aggregator gave a final announcement on its blog Tuesday, months after Google first announced it was shuttering the service, citing a decline in usage.

Now that Reader is a thing of the past, here is a list of some free RSS alternatives for former Google Reader users:

Feedly: Feedly is a popular news aggregation reader that has seen a surge in popularity since Google Reader first announced its retirement. Thanks to Feedly's cloud, users can now sync news in multiple platforms as well as customize sites. Feedly also simplifies content-sharing within different social channels, such as Twitter, Pocket and Facebook. There are, however, several major shortcomings: Users cannot search content within Feedly, and the application is not available for Windows phones.

Newsblur: Newsblur is a web-based RSS reader that allows users to follow 64 sites. The application gives users the option of revealing more than a few words on an article by offering a short snippet instead. But if you want to follow more than 64 sites and want to visit articles in their entirety without having to visit the original pages, you'll need a $24-a-year premium account. Another benefit to paying for the application is skipping the line of 7,000 people also waiting for a free account.

Digg Reader: The social news website has been working on a RSS reader of its own. Digg's application is clean and simple; it can filter customized articles as well as show trending articles, thanks to the inclusion of a "popular" option. This reader also makes sharing content through applications like Instapaper easier. On the downside, it is still in development, and some users have complained about delays in news updates.

The Old Reader: The Old Reader resembles the old Google Reader, before it got rid of its social features. It offers many sharing features — giving users the ability to follow friends who also use Old Reader and providing a newsfeed that shows articles your friends are reading.

Pulse: For users who want a more visual, magazine feel to their reading experience, Pulse may be the most ideal alternative. Unlike the other RSS readers mentioned, which use a layout similar to Google Reader's, Pulse uses images and short headlines to show stories instead. Plus, it takes into account the interests of users by pulling up stories it think users will be most interested in based on their customizations.